Cohabitation Awareness Week

November 30, 2017

Our family law solicitors Nicola Codd and Barbara Richardson are committed members of Resolution, first for family law who campaign for a fairer family justice system. We are supporting Resolution’s Cohabitation Awareness Week this week to make more people aware of the lack of legal protection upon separation for cohabiting couples.

There are around 7 million people in the UK living in this type of relationship, making this the fastest growing family type in the country. In our experience many couples mistakenly believe that they acquire “common law rights” after living with their partner for a number of years or having children together. The sad reality is that unmarried couples have very limited legal rights and because of this there are times when we can’t help them in the way that we could have helped them if they were married.

Until the law changes we advise all cohabiting couples to consider their legal situation and look at ways to provide their own protection such as a Cohabitation Agreement. By setting out your intentions in these documents you will be in a much better situation if the unexpected happens.